LaFerrari hybrid may be the most badass Ferrari ever

With a top speed of 350 km/h, the LaFerrari is the fastest Ferrari road car ever.

PHOTO: John LeBlanc, Postmedia News

By John LeBlanc, Postmedia News

Originally published: March 6, 2013

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GENEVA – What with their secretive banks and renowned watchmaking shops, the streets of Geneva reek of European aristocracy. So it’s only fitting the Swiss city’s annual auto show also showcases the top echelon of European marques, led arguably by the Continent’s most powerful auto brand — Ferrari — and its new LaFerrari, the long-awaited successor to the 2002 Enzo and a direct rival to the McLaren P1 that also debuted here.

Although many recent Ferraris have been penned by Italy’s Pinanfarina design house, the LaFerrari was designed in-house, supposedly because of the high-tech nature of its active aerodynamic body work, as the scoops and spoilers have specific functions.

Beyond its super sports car’s mid-mounted 950 horsepower, V12 gas and electric motor hybrid, dual-clutch autobox powertrain (yes, it’s a “hybrid”!), Ferrari says a total of four different types of hand-laminated carbon-fibre (built in the same department as Ferrari’s Formula One racecars) were needed to create a chassis that is as light and stiff as possible. As a result, this “hybrid” Ferrari is more about going fast instead of saving fuel. The LaFerrari’s zero to 100 km/h time is under three seconds, and it tops out at 350 km/h — the fastest Ferrari road car ever.